- the executive summary;
- the report;
- commentaries to the report, from members of the East of England Faiths Council.
The executive summary was lauched at Westminster Abbey on 21 July 2005. It reveals that faith communities are contributing over £30million in volunteer time every year to the people of the region.
The study, which looked in depth at faith groups in five areas of the region — Harlow, King’s Lynn, Peterborough, Mid-Suffolk and Southend-on-Sea — found that they were providing an enormous range of services from the “traditional” such as hospital visiting to the more innovative, including IT training and facilitating independent living for disabled or homeless people.
Worshipping communities from all the major faith traditions are involved in these projects, giving not only volunteer time, but also premises and, often, the costs of materials needed. Working in partnership with other faith and secular bodies, reaching out to the widest possible number of people is important. In particular, support for those who are vulnerable or in need is a vital driver for faith-based projects. Eighty percent of those questioned did not limit any of their services to their own worshipping group, and only 2% limited all their projects in this way. On average, every faith group interviewed was offering some type of service to 70 people from its local community — projected across the region, this means that 180,000 people benefit every week.
Almost every section of society — whether or not they form part of a worshipping community, of any faith or none — benefits from the presence and work of faith groups within their community.
Major beneficiary groups are children (86% of respondents had child-focussed services) and the elderly (82%). Families under stress, one parent families, single people and others who may be disadvantaged or vulnerable (disabled people: 45%; those with mental health difficulties: 37%; or learning difficulties: 36%) are well represented. This targeting also reflects an anti-discrimination agenda amongst many faith groups, which is emphasised by the fact that other key beneficiaries of projects are people from black and minority ethnic groups (36% of projects work with these) and to a lesser extent from gay and lesbian groups (15%).
The interest of faith communities in promoting both formal and informal learning is endorsed by the statistics, with over 30% of respondents running projects designed for unemployed adults, and 22% for people seeking to improve their skills.
This study not only involved interviewing ministers and religious leaders, researchers also spoke to non-faith organisations. Faiths often work with public bodies such as local councils and health trusts, and with charities — about 50% of those interviewed said some of their projects were “partnered” in this way. Secular organisations find this adds real value to what they are doing, for example, one person in social services said: “Faith groups say things and provide services which statutory bodies can’t.”
The research was funded by the East of England Development Agency and undertaken by the University of Cambridge in conjunction with the East of England Faiths Council. It was launched at Westminster Abbey, and in a keynote speech David Rayner, Policy Adviser in the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit and Secretary to the Inner Cities Religious Council, said:
“Many of the great social movements and charities which are part of everyday life were founded by people of faith. Nowadays, we are all aware of the active part played by faith groups in our society, but often without acknowledging it, so much are they taken for granted as part of the fabric of life.We can see how faith communities are creating support structures for the most vulnerable people: the young, the elderly, those without homes, jobs, or the skills needed to participate fully in a society from which they have been marginalised. This response to the needs and ills of our current world is driven by the most basic tenets of all the major faith traditions, their essential belief in the importance of service to, and compassion for our fellow humans.”
Faith in the East of England was welcomed by speakers Chris White, Deputy Leader of the East of England Regional Assembly; Lord Ahmed on behalf of the Muslim community; Lord Janner on behalf of the Jewish community, and the Bishop of St Albans, the Rt. Revd. Christopher Herbert. All spoke of the vital importance in today’s world of faiths not only engaging with their wider communities, but also building mutual trust by doing so.
The East of England Faiths Council was introduced to delegates at the event by Andrew Lansley, MP for South Cambridgeshire, who spoke of the growth of the Council, which represents all the major faiths of the region, and the breadth of its involvement with the regional agenda.
Press enquiries: Jenny Kartupelis / Sarah Geary, East of England Faiths Council, St John’s Innovation Centre, Cowley Road, Cambridge CB4 0WS Tel: 01223 421606 Email: eefc@cambcatalyst.co.uk